The invention relates to a method and a device (10) for distributing and/or grouping containers in a container treatment system. The device (10) comprises a supply conveyor (12), a discharge conveyor (16) and a transfer conveyor (14). The transfer conveyor (14) comprises a guide path (28) and several movement devices (30) that can be driven individually, preferably by means of a long stator linear motor (32) and which are guided along the guide path (28). The several movement devices (30) comprise a conveyor device (34) that is designed to transfer several containers from the supply conveyor (12) to the discharge conveyor (16). Said device (10) can preferably be used to reduce the risk of the containers tipping over when being transferred, to reduce the number of movement devices (30) and/or to enable the containers to be pre-grouped.

A product management system (100) includes —a continuous first track (104), including a lug queuing section (108), a lug engagement section (110), and a product engagement section (112), each section being configured and adapted to effectuate specific lug movement steps, —a continuous chain (116) partially following the track configured and adapted to actuate lugs (106) about at least a portion of the track, —a series of lugs (106) moveably disposed along the track (104) configured for moving a product along the product engagement section of the track, —a star wheel (120) disposed at the lug engagement section (110) of the track (104) configured for metering lugs (106) to engage the chain (116) from the queuing section (108) of the track (104) and to control a variable pitch between each of the lugs along the transferring chain, —and a magnetism source (122) configured to direct the lugs (106) to the queuing section (108), and to the end of the queuing section (108).

A product management system (100) includes —a continuous first track (104), including a lug queuing section (108), a lug engagement section (110), and a product engagement section (112), each section being configured and adapted to effectuate specific lug movement steps, —a continuous chain (116) partially following the track configured and adapted to actuate lugs (106) about at least a portion of the track, —a series of lugs (106) moveably disposed along the track (104) configured for moving a product along the product engagement section of the track, —a star wheel (120) disposed at the lug engagement section (110) of the track (104) configured for metering lugs (106) to engage the chain (116) from the queuing section (108) of the track (104) and to control a variable pitch between each of the lugs along the transferring chain, —and a magnetism source (122) configured to direct the lugs (106) to the queuing section (108), and to the end of the queuing section (108).

The present invention relates to an apparatus for grouping containers, comprising: a first conveyor belt for transporting the containers in a first transport direction; a second conveyor belt; a container receiving device; a transfer device, which is designed to transfer at least some of the containers from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt transversely to the first transport direction and to transfer at least some of the containers transferred to the second conveyor belt to the container receiving device transversely to the first transport direction; and a motor device, in particular a long stator motor device, which is designed to move the transfer device for transferring a container.

A loading apparatus for loading food products onto and/or into a slicing apparatus, in particular a high-speed slicer, comprises at least one magazine unit that includes a conveying means that endlessly circulates along a running direction. The conveying means is configured to lift the products to a transferring height at which the products can be transferred to the slicing apparatus and includes several product support surfaces, the product support surfaces being oriented essentially perpendicular to the running direction and positioned subsequently along the running direction with a space between each other. At least one product is loadable onto a respective product support surface for lifting the product to the transferring height.

A loading apparatus for loading food products onto and/or into a slicing apparatus, in particular a high-speed slicer, comprises at least one magazine unit that includes a conveying means that endlessly circulates along a running direction. The conveying means is configured to lift the products to a transferring height at which the products can be transferred to the slicing apparatus and includes several product support surfaces, the product support surfaces being oriented essentially perpendicular to the running direction and positioned subsequently along the running direction with a space between each other. At least one product is loadable onto a respective product support surface for lifting the product to the transferring height.

The invention concerns a conveyor system (2) for formatting slice-shaped food products in product stacks. The conveyor system (2) comprises an inlet (4), a lower product conveyor (8), an upper product conveyor (7, 9), a vertically swivelling distributor conveyor (6) for distributing the incoming food products selectively to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9), an output conveyor (10) receiving the food products partially stacked from the lower prod-uct conveyor (8) and the upper product conveyor (7, 9), and an outlet (11) for outputting the stacked food products in product rows. The invention provides that the individual conveying tracks (6G, 6H) of the distributor conveyor (6) can be swivelled vertically independently of one another in order to forward the incoming food products individually for each conveying track selectively to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9). The invention also includes a corresponding operating method.

A pickface builder for a storage and retrieval system for storing goods units and having an in-feed conveyor and a picking device, each goods unit holding at least one product package therein, the pickface builder including a frame, a pusher member movably coupled to the frame, and a snugger member movably coupled to the frame, wherein the pickface builder is configured to receive goods units from the in-feed conveyor and the pusher member and snugger member are movable at least in a direction transverse to a direction of goods unit travel on the in-feed conveyor and configured to form the goods units into a pickface picked by the picking device as a unit and having a predetermined reference datum relating the pickface to a placement position of goods units forming the pickface along a storage surface of the storage and retrieval system.

A conveyor device is provided for conveying food products in stacks or interleaved units made of a plurality of slices of cheese or meat products. The conveyor device formats the food products in a specific product format on a plurality of parallel conveyor tracks, and fills a product gap on one of the plurality of parallel conveyor tracks incoming on the input side with a food product so that on the output side all parallel conveyor tracks are supplied with the food products. At least one product sensor is configured to detect a supply of food product on each conveyor track incoming on the input side.

A system for packaging groups of paper rolls, including a cutting-off machine that cuts paper logs, each group including rolls obtained from a same log. The system includes: a first unit for arranging the individual rolls spaced apart from each other; a second unit forming the groups by grouping a predetermined number of rolls, the second unit being provided with blades adapted to push from the back the last roll of each group to be formed and each formed group as the individual groups are formed by exerting a pushing action on the rear base of said last roll while the front base and a lateral surface of each roll are free; a third unit located downstream of the second unit and adapted to convey the groups towards a packaging machine.